In the tradition of the Very Hungry Caterpillar, a book so much fun kids hardly realize they’re learning about the life cycle of a bug while they read it again and again, here comes “Ladybug and the Awesome Bug Book Adventure” by Bret Syfert, a native Philadelphian now living in London. With its collage of cartoon characters and lush imagery made from photographic collages, the book weaves together a bug’s adventure and a boy’s dream into something educational about bugs in general (only female mosquitoes drink blood; males drink plant juice, etc) and very sweet.
Ladybug, the explorer hero/heroine (kind of gender-ambiguous although if it’s a girl, she’s a tomboy, er, bug) wears aviator goggles and hat while telling you about, in some cases, a little too much (that spiders liquify the innards of their prey and suck it out–I’m pretty sure I for one could have lived without that information.)
The illustrations are great. They collage swatches of cloth, close-ups of paintings, and paper, drawings, and extreme close-ups of walls, grass and plants. The jumble of textures fosters a sense of a world of discombobulation, a kind of 21st century Photoshop-layers Alice in Wonderland. And for an added bit of excitement, there’s also a flip-book image in the lower right corner of each page — it shows a ladybug doing a dance.
Bret’s website has a downloadable version of the book. There’s a nice streaming video of the artist reading the book out loud while the pages turn. And of course you can buy a copy of the book, which the artist will decorate for you with a special drawing/message.
Here’s his blog and here’s his flickr set with more pictures of his illustrations.
Bret helped us out on a book project some years back, designing and producing 100 “OK Artist” books in hand-stitched boxes. Here’s his 58 second video about making the book. Note the dance-rhythm music. In addition to his book and illustration talents, Bret is a B-Boy (break dancer).
